London living with lady Sarah

It’s hard to remember exactly when I got sucked into buying cheap & cheerful. Vaguely remember discovering Zara, and how delighted I was, everything was so god damn, affordable (and in my size!)

Soon enough, it became obvious that the acrylic number that fitted so well and looked great at first, did not behave the same way as my old good quality wool or cotton pieces.

For a start, the acrylic jumper was uncomfortable by the end of the day. It felt itchy – and dare I say it? It SMELLED bad. Acrylic retains odour! Of course, everything was out of shape after a few washes and needed to be replaced – anyway.

But I kept buying ZARA, it was available and looked pretty good, I thought. Top Shop? Yes please! New Look – why not? a new bargain every week. GAP? Cool and classic – so typically USA! (GAP doesn’t actually manufacture any thing in the USA but the image is there.) Back then, there were some vague whispers of sweat shops and exploitation, but to be honest, I thought it was all getting sorted out, after all ‘they‘ needed the jobs, right? The connection between “their” economy and “ours” did not cross my mind.

Eventually I was shopping for new clothes, practically every week. It became a hobby and a favourite pastime. Living in the heart of London, temptation was absolutely everywhere. Just popping to the shops for inspiration in my lunch hour, or surfing the internet for ‘new’ arrivals. Yet, in my overstuffed wardrobe, I never seemed to have anything (really loved) to wear.
How sad is that, I thought? Spending all that time, money and effort shopping and looking a mess.

10 thoughts on “Real Fashion Vs Fast fashion #1 (and how to save the planet and look good to boot)”

Zara gives you that feeling that you’re shopping at a boutique because of the store layout and everything is neat and organized like a high end boutique would be. I can see how someone would get sucked into Zara shopping – I fell for it too-and like you, couldn’t wait to go back and check out the new merchandise. One thing I noticed was their leather bags had a very strong odor to them-almost like a chemical smell. Leather should smell like leather!

I think the quality at Zara used to be a lot better. I have a navy, fitted heavy cotton blazer with a striped lining from Zara which I have had for many years. I wear it every year when the weather gets warmer. It is actually very well made but it is the only thing I have ever bought from them that has lasted so well. I have also bought a few cotton and linen tops too over the years but nothing recently.

I think a lot of women have followed the same pattern, for me getting into debt and realising there was no end to it unless i stopped buying tat was my realisation. When an item came along that loved and felt good in i was always disappointed that it fell apart or looked awful. My daughter who’s 13 loves a good root through such stores. I realised that i need to educate her on quality and where her clothes have come from (whilst having fun with clothes) I have just cancelled my Online account for H&M as she seemed to spend a lot of time browsing and asking for things. Very thought provoking! Thank you

You describe the dissatisfaction perfectly and how it fuels further endless cycles of consumption and waste. I call it my Fashion Wilderness decade and I think it will take me the rest of my life to undo but if we all did it …. 🙂